Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
 Great HD Video Capture Device July 28, 2010
UNIX Guru (Anaheim,CA USA)
I have the Dark Blue Color available from BestBuy Only.
From owning a Mini-DV camera using MiniDV tapes for the last 8 years ( which I already thought was goog quality) I never imagined I would have own a Video capture device of this calibre.
Pro's:
* HD Output via HDMI.
* Lightweight.
* Nice touch screen controls on. Easy to navigate.
* Simple Design. No Viewfinder, No power button.
* Simple Unit Power-on achieved by opening touch screen.
* Internal 16GB is sufficient for daily use. Option to install additional memory or SD Stick.
Con's:
* No Remote-Control Option. I miss the remote control. I like to hardwire the unit to my HDTV and control from my couch. I can do not have that option.
* Should include Mini-HDMI cable by default. The cable costs only $[...] in Amazon.
* Getting to a point that the camera can be too small for average adult hands. Clasping the unit on your palm and controlling it with finger tips is slightly challenging at first. One thing is that your 8 year old can easily take videos as well.
Overall I am happy with the purchase. I would immediately buy a 30mm filter to protect the lens. A extended battery would also be a good idea for those long shoots...
 Love This Camcorder July 5, 2010
E. Rochniak (Rochester, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Easy to use right out of the box and beautiful video. It's amazing what they put in such a small package; it's very easy to hold without your arm getting tired like the old camcorders. I had tried a different brand camcorder and the zoom was very choppy, but the zoom with this Sony is very smooth. I also like that it has 16GB on board so I could try it out without having to purchase media.
Excellent HD camcorder July 4, 2010
Ron Miller (Dania Beach, Fl)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this Sony HDX150 Handicam to document a two week trip to Alaska. After a brief practice session recording a trio jam session at my home - which has been posted on Youtube - I was ready for the trip. The camcorder performed flawlessly, is so compact and light it was a perfect choice for documenting the awesome Alaskan trip. True, the still photos are not as good as those taken with the two Canon SD1000 cameras we also took with us, but still, they are not bad, and the convenience of clicking the photo button to add to the videos is great. The 16 gig built in flash memory was also a deciding factor with the purchase of this Camcorder. With an added 8gig card we were able to record over 7 hours of video and photos. When we returned home and I connected the HDX150 to our Sony Bravia HD TV with an HDMI cable I was very happy with the detail and clarity of the movies. The colors and focus were exceptional as well. A perk, and one of the factors I considered when purchasing this camcorder is that with the HDMI connection, the camcorder links to the TV and one can control both with the TV remote. Lowlight videos came out very natural and impressive. We are very pleased with this Sony HRX HD Handycam. And of course, the price was right even with the shipping charge: $485.
Too Good June 29, 2010
MANEK SHERGILL (Delhi, India)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have recently bought this camcorder in India and used it in Dubai for a holiday.
There are four things which I like about this Camera, which has warranted me giving it 5 stars.
1. The light weight and compact size. It is so small and light that you can easily put it in you jacket pocket. All the other sony models that I saw in HD were bulkier and heavier. It is such a pleasure to hold and carry the camera.
2. I have a HD Sony TV, so I wanted a HD camcorder. At its top settings it gives 24 fps at 50i, so it does not get much better. Outdoors the visuals are STUNNING !!!! Indoors it is acceptable, and not all that bad. Its better than what I expected considering its a budget camcorder.
3. 25X optical zoom is amazing. Not to many camcorders give this much zooms. At 25x, you need very steady hands or a tripod. You can take shots of events/ people from far away. Good if you are a spy !!!!, or if you have a pretty girl in the building next to yours !!!!
4. I can connect an external hard drive DIRECTLY to the camera to transfer files. That way with a total of 48 GB (16 inbuilt +32 memory card) is more than enough for my daily needs. In the evenings I transfer the files to my 500 GB external drive. Do not buy a camera with a hard drive because those camera have movable parts (Hard drive), is heavier and chances of hard disk getting spoilt in the long run is a possibility and the camcorders are more expensive.
The following are the things that I don't like about the camera.
1. Image stabilization sucks big time. You need steady hands when you are zooming.
2. While driving over sand dunes in the desert, I came across situations where it took 2-3 seconds to focus.
I have not tried editing my clips, so I will not comment on that subject. To view, I just connect my 500GB external drive to the front USB port in my Sony Blue Ray player, and it works seamlessly.
Really value for money, does not get better at this price !!!!!
I was surprised at the quality from such a small camera June 28, 2010
Michael David (Corona, CA)
I was thoroughly surprised at the quality from such a small camera. My last Sony camcorder I owned was a standard definition 8mm tape type that had lots of bells and whistles that I never used. I was a little reserved on how well this camera could be considering it's size. I have used it for two different events now and found it does have a few draw backs but the pluses out weigh the negatives.
I used it indoors for my daughters dance production which was indoors in a theater/stage setting; had various scene changes, low lighting, bright stage lighting, different colored lighting, spot lighting and the camera kept up with all of it better than my expectations for a camera in this price range.
The second was a concert of my band that was outdoors in bright sunlight, this is where this camera really shines for video but lacks in audio. There is no wind cancellation so it picked up wind noise easily. I will probably stick some velcro on the front of it and put some foam or fabric over the mic when I record outdoors next time.
Pros:
*Very small, pocket sized
*Idiot proof (open the screen and the camera turns on, push the iAuto button and the camera makes all the settings for you.)
*close the screen and the camera turns off
*tells you when the lens cover is closed...
*25x optical zoom
*Not many external buttons for controls (this can be good or bad, for me it's good when my wife or kids are using it they can't change the settings by accident. I can see where some might not like it though)
*Pretty good picture quality
*Almost too small to hold steady but Sony added a zoom and record button to the touch screen so you can alter the way you hold it to be the most steady and use either the touch screen or hard buttons for this.
* about 2 hour battery life with stock FP50 battery
* Just under 2 hour recording at 2nd highest quality setting (I think this is comparable to 1080p), Almost 4 hours at 3rd setting (I'm guessing something like 1080i) which when viewing on my TV and computer monitor looked very close in quality)
Cons:
*Low light is not as good as my older camera that was much bigger (but still a compact unit in it's day)Low light was still acceptable though in my opinion.
*Microphone is sensitive to wind noise
*electronic steady shot is not as good as optical steady shot on my older Sony; but perfectly usable at moderate zoom. Anything over probably 7x needs to be on a tripod if your picky about your video being ultra stable.
* no viewfinder for bright sunlight. Although the screen is relatively easy to use in the direct sunlight, it is a bit difficult to change settings if you had to and I had to remove my sunglasses to best see the screen outdoors (which is typical in any of the ultra compact cameras)
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
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